Rory Mulvihill, Palmes Close, Naburn, York.
ON a recent Radio 4 Today programme, John Major credited the EU with eradicating fascism in Spain, Portugal and Greece. Of all the outlandish claims made thus far by the Remain campaign, this is surely the most egregious.
Portugal adopted a democratic constitution in 1976, but didn’t join the EU (then the European Community) until 1986. Spain established a constitutional monarchy in 1978, over seven years before it joined the EU. Greece broke free of its military rulers in 1974, but did not become a member of the EU until 1981.
He also had the chutzpah to praise the EU for helping to rebuild the Balkans after the war, when it was the EU’s paralysed reaction to that conflict (and abrogation of responsibility in favour of Nato) which contributed significantly to the extent of the damage caused.
By talking in this propagandic fashion, apologists like Major unwittingly cast the EU as the Forrest Gump of European history – constantly making fantastical claims of presence at, and having had influence on, the defining events of the age.
Read more: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/yp-letters-if-we-stay-on-eu-road-to-integration-there-will-be-no-escape-1-7895112#ixzz47qYPOuVc
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